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‘Scarface’ achieves cult status with Al Pacino in starring role

Pacino received more leading roles after his success as Michael Corleone in The Godfather. One of those roles, Tony Montana in Scarface, would rival The Godfather as his most famous performance. Universal Pictures / Photofest
December 20, 2024

When Scarface premiered in 1983, starring Al Pacino as a Cuban drug trafficker in South Florida, the movie was regarded as a flop. That didn’t surprise Pacino. “The whole film was a blatant indictment of the 1980s, and it went against the status quo — the ‘Just Say No’ campaign of Nancy Reagan and the establishment of the time,” he writes in his new memoir, Sonny Boy. “It certainly didn’t fit into the Hollywood mold either.” In the memoir, Pacino calls the movie a “flop — not commercially, but critically. Artistically. Spiritually.” Pacino’s book begins with his difficult upbringing in New York City, where ...

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John Gotti’s takedown detailed in new Netflix series

A three-part docuseries now available on Netflix examines the dramatic rise and fall of Gambino crime family boss John Gotti…

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Eighty-two years ago this month, Murder Inc.’s Abe Reles took a mysterious fall

Abraham “Kid Twist” Reles’ damning testimony assisted in taking down some of the most vicious Mob enforcers during the sensational…

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Mobsters blamed for Election Day violence in New York City 90 years ago

Before a hotly contested battle for the New York mayor’s office culminated in a big win for a “law and…

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Classic Mob movie ‘Mean Streets’ celebrates 50th anniversary

Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets, released in October 1973, is regarded as a classic crime drama, depicting a New York City…

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Defiance of Kefauver Committee put Frank Costello behind bars for 14 months

When New York underworld boss Frank Costello famously walked out while being questioned by the Kefauver Committee in 1951, he…

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Tod Goldberg’s Mob trilogy concludes with ‘Gangsters Don’t Die’

The third novel in a Mob trilogy by author Tod Goldberg was released in September, completing the tale of a…

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The fall of Salvatore Maranzano, and the rise of the new Mafia

The autocratic reign of self-proclaimed boss of all bosses Salvatore Maranzano came to a bloody end 92 years ago this…

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